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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29552943">Bringing Trouble Home</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThePoeticWalrus/pseuds/ThePoeticWalrus'>ThePoeticWalrus</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Hilda (Cartoon)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>And I may as well write some of it, My First Fanfic, My First Work in This Fandom, There needs to be more Hilda fanfiction, mild homophobia</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-15 20:41:10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>5,153</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29552943</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThePoeticWalrus/pseuds/ThePoeticWalrus</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>What to do when you're a magical high schooler in a family that hates magic, with a brother intent on exposing a girl he thinks is a witch? If you're Jen, the answer is hide your secret well, and keep your brother under wraps. But what happens if he's put in a situation that only magic can fix?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>26</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. The Girl Who Walks Through Doors</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This work draws direct inspiration from a post by cat-in-a-fedora on Tumblr. A link to their blog can be found here: https://cat-in-a-fedora.tumblr.com/</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It was well past midnight in Trolberg, the streets quiet and vacant. A thin, wispy fog had rolled in off the fjord, blanketing the city. The streetlights hummed with an orange glow, making the mist shimmer as it lazily moved between buildings. Most folks were in bed, save for graveyard shifters and Safety Patrollers out on their rounds.</p><p>Along a side street, the fog was cut by a hazy green smoke, which snaked along the road and down an alleyway, stopping before a closed gate. The smoke approached the gate’s keyhole and slipped through, winding through the yard to the backdoor of a small house. It once again wormed through the keyhole, condensing just beyond the door in the hallway. As the smoke dissipated, it was replaced by the form of a teenage girl. She wore a simple black t-shirt, gray capri jeans, pink running shoes, and a jean jacket which helped keep off the damp. Her curly hair was tied behind her in a bun, and as she materialized from the air, she scratched an itch at the base of her scalp.</p><p>Jen had been a Marra for nearly a year now, and it had brought her freedom she’d scarcely dreamed of before. Able to sneak through any door, she could visit any building of her choosing, whether to spy on the residents, enjoy the thrill of using her powers, or (as Marra are known to do and her friends had made something of a sport) invade the dreams of sleeping kids. Jen rather enjoyed crafting nightmares for unlucky children around town. It brought her a strange sense of accomplishment to know that she was the deciding factor between restful sleep and a night full of horrors. Her friends egged her on, of course, as the combined fear the seven of them created brought them a kind of spiritual satisfaction; feeding their powers, and encouraging them to use them more frequently.</p><p>Jen had just returned from such a feeding, and upon arriving home, attempted to sneak her way up to her room. As she got to the top of the stairs however, she found the stern face of her mother staring down at her.</p><p>“And just where ‘ave you been?” her mother scowled, tapping her toe impatiently on the carpet.</p><p>“Out with friends, mum, like I said before I left,” Jen replied with a roll of her eyes. She began to walk towards her room, but was stopped by her mother placing an arm in front of her.</p><p>“D’you know it’s past bleedin’ midnight? You should ‘ave been home HOURS ago! I can’t be expected to wait up all night for you to sneak back home, not with work tomorrow. AND I’ve got to take your brother to school! Where’s the thought for your poor mum when you’re out with your mates doing ‘eaven knows what ‘till all hours of the night?”</p><p>“Mum, really, I’m sorry. It won’t happen again.” Jen moved past her mother towards her room, opening the door and stepping in.</p><p>
  <i>“Jenaya Marie!”</i>
</p><p>Jen froze at the use of her middle name. Her mother only used it when she was genuinely cross.</p><p>“You’re not to stay out past eleven anymore, you hear me? And if your friends don’t like it, they can ruddy well carry on without you.” With that, she closed her door, leaving Jen alone in the hallway.</p><p>The young girl took a deep breath and closed her own door, collapsing onto her bed. As annoyed as she was by her mother’s command, she knew that she wouldn’t really be stopped from going out. It wasn’t as if her mom could lock her in the house, exactly. As she drifted off to sleep, not bothering to undress from the day, she found herself plotting ways to sneak past her mom the next time her friends met.</p><p>-----------</p><p>The next morning at breakfast, Jen was still working out scenarios for slipping away at night. She was soon joined in the kitchen by Trevor, her younger brother. He was still a grade schooler, several years behind her. He could be a pain in the ways that little brothers are, but Jen would be lying if she said she didn’t love him.</p><p>“Morning you,” Jen greeted as she took a sip of tea.</p><p>“Morning,” replied Trevor as he poured himself some cereal.</p><p>“Anything big happening at school this week?” Jen stood up to wash out her mug, setting it by the sink to dry.</p><p>“No, not really. Just gonna try and get that Hilda girl to slip up in class and show everyone what she really is.”</p><p>“Hilda? Who’s that?”</p><p>“This weird blue haired girl! She’s not right. Some kinda witch, she is. I know it. And if I can get her to slip up, everyone else will too!”</p><p>Jen’s eyes widened in realization as her brother described Hilda. She knew the blue haired girl; the leader of the Marra gang had a run-in with her, weeks back. She was apparently almost impossible to scare. Not to mention she’d cost the Marra one of their best dreamscapes to play around in; David’s imagination ran wild at the slightest suggestion, and the fear from him was enough to satisfy the Marras’ spirits for days. In the end, Hilda had succumbed to a nightmare, but she was hardly worth the effort all the same. Jen scowled slightly, wondering how Trevor had ever gotten mixed up with Hilda in the first place.</p><p>“Ugh, don’t even mention that girl in this house.” Jen’s mother stepped into the kitchen, fastening an earring. “Trouble, she is. You stay away from her, Trevor. Her and her mother. No telling what that woman’s about. ‘Course she spends all that time with that librarian woman, and we all know what <i>she’s</i> like…” Their mother sneered, grabbing her purse off the counter. “Ready Trev?”</p><p>“Ready.” Trevor grabbed his bag from by the table and joined his mother. “Bye Jen!” he called as he scampered into the yard.</p><p>Jen waved after the two, closing the door behind them. Once she was alone, her mind began to race. Trevor knew Hilda, and Hilda knew the Marra. There was a chance, no matter how small, that Jen and her friends would encounter the little blue haired girl again at some point. What if Trevor was around to see it happen? Magic was a taboo topic in their house, and Trevor and his mother hated magic in all its forms. If they knew about Jen’s secret, what if they ended up hating her too?</p><p>Brushing these thoughts from her mind, the girl grabbed her backpack from the hall and left the house, making her way to school a few blocks down. She would just have to hope that Trevor never found out about the Marra. And if he did… well, she’d think of something then. For now, she just needed to get through the day.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Worries Over Coffee</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>As Jen made her way along the sidewalk, her mind began to wander back to her brother and Hilda. If the little girl had been messing with the Marra, there’s no telling what else she might get up to. And if Trevor planned to catch her doing whatever he thought she was doing, it was only a matter of time before Hilda got him into some kind of magical trouble. Heaven forbid, she might even come for the Marra again. Jen couldn’t help but shiver at the thought of her brother catching her as a Marra; what would he tell their mom? What would their mom even do if she found out?</p>
<p>Her attention was suddenly drawn by someone ahead of her calling her name. Bringing her vision back into focus, she recognized her friend Edith on the corner ahead of her. Edith was wearing her usual red cardigan and gray t-shirt combo, paired with rolled up jeans and simple flat black shoes. Her large round glasses caught the sun with a flicker as she turned to smile at Jen. The two girls had first met when Jen became a Marra, Edith having become one some months before her. Though at first their relationship was limited to the rituals in the Huldrawood, the two had actually grown rather close. Jen considered Edith to be someone she could trust with most secrets and problems, and the pair had often spent nights at each other’s homes talking until the sun rose. Jen jogged slightly, and soon caught up to her friend.</p>
<p>“Hey you!” Edith grinned cheerfully.</p>
<p>“Morning,” Jen replied with a half-grin.</p>
<p>“Man, some ritual last night, eh? Kelly’s story about the kid with snakes still had me giggling when I woke up this morning!”</p>
<p>“Yeah, that one wasn’t bad.”</p>
<p>“It sucks that Piper lost that David kid, but I heard she’s found a girl down by the harbour that’s almost just as scared as he was!”</p>
<p>“Oh. That’s good…”</p>
<p>Edith looked over with less of a smile than she’d just had on. Something was clearly up with Jen; she was usually in such a good mood after a ritual. “Alright mate?” she asked casually.</p>
<p>“I’m- yeah, I’m fine. Just… something on my mind is all…” Jen looked down at her shoes, hoping that answer would move the conversation along. Edith, however, was intent on finding out what was eating at her friend.</p>
<p>“Hey, seriously.” The pair stopped on the sidewalk just outside the school gate. “What’s up? You know you can tell me anything,” Edith said with a sympathetic smile.</p>
<p>Jen gave a brief sigh before looking up. Seeing Edith look at her like that, she knew it was at least safe to broach the topic with her friend, regardless of how Edith might react. The girl in glasses had been there for her through many rough patches. Edith knew the general scope of the attitude towards magic in Jen’s home, and had even offered Jen a place at her apartment if the curly haired girl needed a place to escape if things went south. Jen smiled back, and placed a hand on Edith’s arm.</p>
<p>“I know I can, and I will. Listen, let’s get coffee after school, and I’ll tell you what’s up.”</p>
<p>Edith gave a smirk. “Is it a boy?” </p>
<p>Jen rolled her eyes. “No, it is not a boy.”</p>
<p>“Oooh, a girl then,” Edith teased back.</p>
<p>Jen chuckled and gave her friend a soft punch in the arm. “Oi! Seriously, I’ll tell you everything. Now c’mon, we’re late.” The first bell rang as the two girls reached the door and made their way inside the school.</p>
<p>-----------------</p>
<p>The day flew by in a haze of lectures, notes, and trips back and forth to lockers. Before Jen realized, it was mid afternoon and the final bell had rang. Grabbing her bag from her locker, she met Edith out by the front gate. The two walked along towards the middle of town, comparing class experiences and trading gossip they’d picked up in the halls. A few blocks along, they came to a small cafe they’d sometimes visit after school. After finding a table and placing orders, they dropped their bags and sat across from each other. Edith leaned in over the table, facing Jen.</p>
<p>“Okay, spill. What’s got you so preoccupied?” She adjusted her glasses, waiting for her friend to begin.</p>
<p>“Right, so…” Jen cleared her throat. “You know that my family, my mum and brother, they’re not big fans of magic. At all.”</p>
<p>Edith nodded in acknowledgment.</p>
<p>“Right. You remember that Hilda girl?”</p>
<p>“Ugh, that little blue haired brat that ruined the fun with her little mate David. Yeah, hard to forget a killjoy like her,” Edith said with a sneer.</p>
<p>“Well turn out, she’s in Trev’s class.”</p>
<p>“You’re joking!”</p>
<p>“I wish I was, honestly. And Trev’s got it into his head that she’s some sort of witch or something. And he’s intent on catching her doing something witchy or creepy or something like that."</p>
<p>Edith leaned back, crossing her arms. “Well I can’t say I’d be surprised if she was a witch of some sort. I see her ‘round the library lots, and the librarian lady definitely has something magic-y going on. What’s this got to do with you though?”</p>
<p>“Well if he’s following her, and she’s up to heaven knows what, what happens if he gets hurt somehow? Worse… what if she comes for us again and… Trevor sees me?”</p>
<p>“Oh…” Edith unfolded her arms and leaned forward. “Oh.” The girl in glasses sat still, contemplating exactly what such a situation would mean for Jen. And the potential hostility she could face at home as a result.</p>
<p>Their drinks arrived just then, and the two girls sat in silence as they drank. As they were nearly finishing, Edith adjusted her glasses and looked up at Jen. “So… what’re you going to do?”</p>
<p>“I don’t know,” the girl replied. “For now, the plan is just to see if I can keep Trevor from doing something stupid. If he found out, though, I… I have no idea what’d even happen.”</p>
<p>“Hey, listen.” Edith reached across the table to hold her friend’s hand. “I meant what I said before. If you feel unsafe, there’s room for you at mine. Always”</p>
<p>Jen smiled, squeezing Edith’s hand. “I know.”</p>
<p>The girls finished their drinks and made their way outside and back the way they came. At the street corner where they’d met that morning, Edith turned to head towards her apartment, while Jen continued to her house. As she entered, she saw her brother’s shoes and bag by the doorway. “I’m home,” she called out.</p>
<p>“Hey,” Trevor replied as he came from the kitchen. His face bore a grim scowl, and he tightly gripped the glass in his hands.</p>
<p>“Alright mate? Rough day at school?” Jen asked with slight concern. Her brother could sometimes be upset, but not usually like this.</p>
<p>“I just… gah, I hate that Hilda! I hate her so much! She acts like she’s normal, and like her friends are normal, but there’s something up with all of them! And I just can’t catch them at it!” The young boy took an angry sip of milk, and leaned against the hallway wall.</p>
<p>Jen let out a breath and looked at the ground. “I know what you mean,” she muttered.</p>
<p>Trevor looked up at her, head tilted. “How’s that?”</p>
<p>Jen realized he’d heard her, and panicked for a moment. “I, uh… I actually know Hilda,” she said impulsively <i>’Why would you tell him?!’</i> her mind screamed out.</p>
<p>“Nuh uh!” Trevor exclaimed. “How?!”</p>
<p>“Well,” Jen started as she scratched the back of her head. “Me and my mates had a kind of run-in with her, and she, uh- well, let’s just say she spoiled some fun we were having. And we weren’t happy about it.”</p>
<p>Trevor smiled a tight-lipped smile. “So you know what I’m up against then.”</p>
<p>Jen shifted her weight on each foot uneasily. “I suppose I do,” she replied.</p>
<p>“Well don’t worry then,” Trevor said. He turned to face his sister. “I’ve been watching her and her weird friends whisper about something in class all day. Something about this weekend, at the Huldrawood.”</p>
<p>Jen felt a lump form in her throat, and sweat collect on her palms. She hoped against hope that her brother wasn’t planning what she thought he was.</p>
<p>“They’re up to something sinister, I know it.” Trevor grinned broadly. "And whatever it is, I’m gonna catch ‘em at it!”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Storms Brewing</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Later that evening, Jen’s mother had arrived home from work and prepared dinner. Jen ate mostly in silence, head swimming with thoughts and worries about her little brother. After the meal and washing were done, the three separated to their respective corners of the house. </p>
<p>Dark fell as Jen lay on her bed, trying to finish some school work before she went out on her midnight excursion. As she closed a notebook she’d hastily scribbled in, she heard a knock. Looking up, she saw Trevor standing in her doorway.</p>
<p>“So you know Hilda, right?” he asked as he walked over to sit on her bed.</p>
<p>“Well… sort of. Not well, really.” Jen shifted around to sit cross-legged next to her brother.</p>
<p>“Even if you know her a little, you know that she’s trouble. She’s a witch, I just know it. And like mum says, nothing good ever comes from magic. It’s just used to hurt people like us.”</p>
<p>Jen did her best to hold her tongue, not wanting to say something that could give herself away. No matter how many times Trevor or their mum went off about how hurtful magic was, it still stung to hear. Besides, what she and her friends did wasn’t harmful. Just teenage pranks that gave everyone a boost of magical energy. None of the people they messed with ever got hurt.</p>
<p><i>Right?</i> she thought to herself.</p>
<p>“And besides,” Trevor continued, “even without all her scary magic crap, her mum hangs out with that witch at the library all the time. Ugh, they probably love each other or something. Gross…”</p>
<p>Jen couldn’t help but cringe at that last remark. Her mother’s hatred of ‘otherness’ extended beyond just magic, she knew that well enough. Even so, Jen could never wrap her mind around why her mum hated people that loved the same gender. The fear of magic she at least understood, but there was absolutely nothing harmful about boys loving boys and girls loving girls. Jen knew at least one of the Marra were gay; her friend Hope had been so excited to tell the girls about her first girlfriend. Jen herself occasionally felt romantic feelings for girls. And, living in the house she did, she was mortified at the idea of her mother finding out. Even if her secret life as a Marra were revealed, Jen would never willingly let slip how she felt in front of her family.</p>
<p>“Jen? You even listening?” Trevor poked her side, causing her to jolt. She realized she’d been lost in thought while her brother had been talking.</p>
<p>“No, yeah, sorry,” she said as she scratched the back of her head. “Hey look, it’s getting late, and I’ve some work to finish. Why don’t you head off to bed?”</p>
<p>Trevor gave an affirming grunt, and scampered off. Jen closed her door behind him, leaning against the wall with a sigh. She’d kept her family from finding out she was a Marra for nearly an entire year, and so far nothing bad had happened.</p>
<p><i>So why does it feel like that’s all about to change?</i> she thought.</p>
<p>------------------</p>
<p>At about half past eleven, Jen turned the lights off in her room, and stepped over to the window. She opened it barely an inch, just enough to create a gap. Closing her eyes and concentrating, she willed her body to lighten and dissipate. Soon, the familiar feeling of weightlessness came over her as she floated out the window in the form of a smoky green cloud. </p>
<p>She drifted above the rooftops along her street, feeling the pull of dreams manifesting in the minds of the people sleeping below. As she flew towards the center of town, she spied another green mist hovering nearby. She willed her body back to its usual form and drifted over to the other cloud. As it took shape, it revealed Piper, the leader of the Marra gang in Trolberg. Her long blond hair was tied back in pigtails, and she was clad in a pink scarf, her usual sweater with sleeves that covered her hands, pink tights and sneakers. Her eyes glowed a pale neon green, and she wore her characteristic sinister grin.</p>
<p>“Well well, look who’s out and about tonight,” Piper giggled. “Evening, Jen.”</p>
<p>“Hey Piper,” Jen giggled back. “Anything good on tonight?”</p>
<p>“Well, I was just on my way down to the harbor. There’s this girl named Olga who’s almost exactly like David; scared of her own shadow pretty much!” Jen gave an eerie laugh and turned a cartwheel in the air. “And,” she said as she floated over to wrap an arm around Jen’s shoulders. “I want you to have a go at her. Lets see what you can do with the material.”</p>
<p>Jen broke into a sly smirk. “Bring it on!” The two girls, changing into their green, misty forms, flitted down to the waterfront, stopping before a two storey blue and white house. They slipped in the front door through the keyhole, perching on the walls as shadowy facsimiles of themselves. Skittering like insects, they climbed through the stairwell to the upper floor, approaching a door at the end of the hall. From the pink and purple hearts taped to the door alongside pictures of three young girls, it was clear this was the room they were looking for. The Marra slipped through the keyhole once more, hovering above a small child asleep in her bed. Her shoulder length, curly red hair was messily laid out on her pillow, and she was curled beneath a patterned quilt that more than covered her and the bed.</p>
<p>Piper cracked a window open for an easy way out, and grinned up at Jen, who made her way to the bedside. Jen focused her attention and energy, and slipped into the mind of the sleeping girl.</p>
<p>She was met with a vision of Trolberg in the daytime, the sky shimmering in a dreamy way. She was suspended in the air somewhere above a school by the harbor, looking down on the kids who, evidently, were leaving for the afternoon. Her attention was caught by three girls, all wearing the school’s green uniform sweater. She recognized one as Olga, and swooped down to follow her. Olga and her friends walked to the waterfront. Looking around, Jen saw a perfect setup for a nightmare and smiled to herself.</p>
<p>Dream-Olga had turned to say something to her friend, only to realize that they both had vanished. She looked around confused. Suddenly, the sunlight began to dim as thick, black clouds overtook the sky. A roaring roll of thunder cracked the silence, shaking Olga where she stood. As the sky boiled like a thick, black pit of tar, a fierce, cold wind swept up the fjord, hitting the young girl hard enough to knock her onto the concrete. The fierce wind whipped up the water, which had turned red like blood, and stuck to everything it splashed against. Olga gave a frightened gasp as a swell broke over the pier, covering her in the thick, foul smelling liquid from the sea. Suddenly, the cranes above the docks came to life, whipping around in the air and growing huge, oozing suckers as they turned into monstrous tentacles. Olga screamed and ran for her home as the pier began to rock and shake, coming to life as the cranes had. The entire street seemed to writhe like some horrid ocean creature, covered in the bloody water from the sea which swept over it in thicker, bolder waves. Olga rushed inside and upstairs. No sooner had she slammed shut the door to her room than her house rolled to one side. She looked out her window to see an enormous growling squid with her house gripped in its tentacles, blood and slime oozing over the walls. From within the black, churning waters, a huge mouth full of hook-like teeth appeared. Olga tried to scream, but no sound came out as the creature tossed her tiny house into the air, and it fell down, down into the dark and spiralling teeth…</p>
<p>With a shrill scream, Olga awoke in the real world, just as Jen left her mind and slipped out the window on Piper’s heels. The two perched on the rooftop of the house as they felt the raw essence of fear flow through them, burrowing itself away in their minds to be shared with the other Marra later.</p>
<p>“Fantastic!” giggled Piper as she gave her compatriot a clap on the shoulder. “We’ll have to come back tomorrow night.”</p>
<p>“I’m game,” replied Jen with a smile.</p>
<p>Yet as she lifted into the air, she heard Olga below, crying out for her parents. As the girl’s sobs reached her ears, she couldn’t help but feel a tinge of remorse.</p>
<p><i>It’s not hurtful. It’s just pranks,</i> she reminded herself. And yet, she still felt doubt eating at the edge of her mind.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Confession</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Heyo! Shorter chapter this time around, but I figured I should at least post something so you all know I'm not dead.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The next day was Tuesday, and as Jen got her things together for school, she couldn’t stop thinking about last night’s excursion with Piper. She genuinely enjoyed giving people a good scare, and it was exciting to share her exploits with the girls when they met in the woods. So why, then, was she so rattled about Olga crying after waking from the bad dream she’d created?</p><p>She heard her mother depart with Trevor, and figured she’d better get a move on if she wanted to meet Edith before school. As she began the familiar walk, she struggled to put a name to how she was feeling about the previous night. '<i>Shame? Guilt? Maybe both? But it’s been a year, and I’ve never felt this way before…</i>' she thought to herself. As if the brewing trouble with her brother wasn’t enough already, Jen sighed at the fact that she seemed to be battling her own conscience as well.</p><p>She was so engrossed in thought that she didn’t hear Edith call her name, and only noticed the other girl when she ran straight into her with a grunt. Edith giggled with her usual brightness and looked at her friend.</p><p>“Your ears aren’t clogged, are they mate? I must’ve called your name like five times!” As Jen lifted her head, Edith saw the expression on her face. Her worried look from the day before looked as though it had been multiplied tenfold. “Babe, you look even worse than before, what’s going on? Trevor’s antics?” she leaned in closer to the curly haired girl, worry growing on her own face. “Is it… is it your mum?”</p><p>Jen gave a deep sigh. She somehow felt on the verge of tears, even though she thought she’d have nothing to cry about. “Its… gosh, I don’t even… it’s somehow even <i>more</i> complicated than Trevor and my mum.” Jen looked her friend in the eyes. “Can I come over to yours after school? I need to talk, but I just… I don’t want it to be in public.”</p><p>Edith smiled warmly and wrapped her arms around her friend. “Absolutely! Mum and dad are away on business for the week, actually, so we’ll have the place to ourselves! Might even make a night of it, eh?”</p><p>Jen couldn’t help but smile seeing her friend’s excitement grow. “If we did, I’d just need to pop home for a couple things. Clothes and the like. And leave my mum a note, she’d freak out otherwise.”</p><p>The two friends embraced once more before making the walk to school. Once inside, they separated for classes. The day dragged on much like any other. Jen still felt a bit dizzy from everything that had happened, and there was a fluttering in her stomach as she thought about talking to Edith. She trusted her friend wholeheartedly, but she knew this subject could, and maybe would, shake Edith’s trust in her. By the end of the day, she decided she had to at least bring it up, if for no other reason than to ease the tension she felt.</p><p>As the final bell rang, Jen and Edith met on the school’s front steps, and began the walk towards Jen’s house. Reaching it, Edith waited by the front door as Jen grabbed some spare clothes, pajamas, and other essentials. In the kitchen, she hastily scribbled a note explaining where she was for her mother, and left with Edith in tow. The pair decided to take the shortcut, cutting through Trolberg’s cramped alleyways and side streets, slipping past trash bins and forgotten crates. Before long, they reached a three-storey apartment block on a quiet street. Taking a key from her pocket, Edith unlocked a door to a stairwell, and led Jen up to a third floor flat. Turning a second key in the lock, she pushed the door open and ushered her friend inside. “Make yourself at home!”</p><p>Edith’s apartment was cozy and modern, with a large, comfy couch in the middle of the living room. Jen kicked her shoes off by the door and plopped on the couch, dropping her bag nearby. Edith went to the kitchen and grabbed two colas from the fridge, cracking one open and offering the other to Jen. The curly haired girl opened hers and took a sip as her friend curled up on the other end of the couch.</p><p>“Right,” Edith began. “If the look on your face this morning is anything to go on, there is something seriously troubling you. Plus the fact you asked to stay over.” Realizing that what she said made her sound like an uninviting host, Edith shook her head. “Not that that’s an indicator of any problems, but you seemed really insistent on it. Just makes me a little concerned for you, is all.” The girl took a sip of her drink, waiting for Jen to speak.</p><p>Jen took another drink and sat up cross-legged, facing Edith across the couch. “No, you’re right. I was really insistent about it. And I still am.” She sighed and leaned her head against the back of the couch. “Look, I need to ask you something. And I know you won’t judge me for asking it, but I’m nervous nonetheless.”</p><p>Edith sat up and scooted closer to her friend, placing a hand on Jen’s shoulder. “Mate, whatever it is, you know I won’t judge you. And that’s a promise.”</p><p>Jen sucked in a breath and looked up at Edith. “Do you ever wish you weren’t a Marra anymore?”</p><p>Edith couldn’t help but be taken aback, her hand lifting off Jen’s shoulder and clutching her own which still held her drink. Her eyes were wide, her brow wrinkled, and she repeated Jen’s question in her mind. “Um… well, I… I don’t know? I mean…” Realization suddenly hit her, and her expression changed to shock mixed with concern. “Jen, are you… do you mean that you… you want to stop being a Marra?”</p><p>Jen could feel the sting of tears forming at the edges of her eyes as her friend’s question rang out in her head. All the tension and worry from the last two days flooded to the front of her mind as though a dam had broken; the guilt, the shame, the sadness, the fear, all came rushing forward, threatening to choke her voice with sobs and clog her eyes with tears as her best friend looked on. After what seemed like an eternity, she managed to nod her head and whisper a strangled response. “I think I do.”</p>
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